Which to use
“know” and “known” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,096
- “know” frequency rank
- #40,645
- “known” frequency rank
- 45741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | know | known |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | wissen | Partizip Perfekt (past participle) des Verbs know |
Letter map: know vs known
Shared letters muted; letters that set know and known apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Pair insight - know / known
know and known are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “know” sits inside “known”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
know is recorded at frequency rank #5,096, classified as averb, pronounced [nəʊ]. known is at rank #40,645, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 45741, this pair ranks #1,342,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of know vs known
Shared letters: know. Private to "know": -. Private to "known": -.
"know" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "known" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "know" and "known" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "know" or "known" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "know" vs "known" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "know" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "known" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,342,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "know" and "known" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "known vs puzzles". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,342,749 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.